Chapter 3: The Guard's Confession

Theo returned the next night with information that changed everything.

He waited until the other guards finished their rotation, until the dungeon fell silent except for the drip of wate. Then he crouched outside Jasmina's cell, his face tight with anger.

"My sister's name was Elara," he said without preamble. "Three years ago, Alpha Damoew summoned her to his chambers. Told her she'd make a good mistress. She was only nineteen."

Jasmina listened, her chains clinking softly as she shifted position.

"Elara refused. Said she was waiting for her mate, that she wouldn't dishonor herself like that." Theo's jaw clenched. "Damoew called her defiant. Said she was disrespecting his authority as Alpha. He exiled her the next morning. There was no chance to defend herself. Nobody even listened to her own side of the story."

"I'm sorry," Jasmina said quietly.

"Don't be sorry. Be angry." Theo pulled something from his pocket—a scrap of fabric, singed at the edges. He held it up to the torchlight. "I found this two nights ago in the courtyard behind the kitchens."

It’s embroidered in the corner were Jasmina's initials: J.L. The stitching was delicate, and it was look expensive.

"I've never owned anything like that," Jasmina said immediately.

"I know. I've been watching you for months. You don't wear embroidered clothes." Theo turned the fabric over. "Someone burned a whole pile of these in the courtyard. This piece survived because it fell into the mud."

"Arlene."

"I saw her." Theo's voice dropped lower. "Two nights ago, around midnight. I was on patrol near the kitchens. She was carrying something wrapped in cloth, moving fast, looking around like she didn't want to be seen."

Jasmina gripped the cell bars despite the silver burning her palms. "What was she doing?"

"I followed her to the courtyard. She dumped the bundle into a fire pit and burned it. I waited until she left, then checked what was left." He gestured to the fabric scrap. "This, and ash. Lots of ash. Whatever she burned, there was a lot of it."

"She's planting evidence," Jasmina said. "Making it look like I owned those clothes, then destroying them so no one can prove they weren't mine."

"Exactly." Theo tucked the fabric away. "But there's more. Yesterday, I saw her going into the restricted archives. The ones only elders can access."

"How did she get in?"

"She had Hardy Armstrong's access token. The bronze key he wears around his neck." Theo shook his head. "I don't know if she stole it or if he gave it to her, but she was in there for two hours. When she came out, she was carrying old books. Really old. The kind with cracked leather covers and pages."

Jasmina's mind started racing. "What was she looking for?"

"I got into the archives this morning during the elder meeting. It took me an hour to find where she'd been searching." Theo glanced back toward the dungeon entrance, then continued. "There's a section on ancient pack history, with forbidden rituals. Stuff we're not supposed to talk about anymore."

"What kind of rituals?"

"Lycan Vault rituals." Theo's expression darkened. "I found a book she'd left open. It talked about a sealed chamber beneath the packhouse. A weapon from the original Lycan Kings that can control werewolf bloodlines."

The temperature in the cell seemed to drop.

"Control how?" Jasmina asked.

"Complete control. Whoever opens the vault can command any wolf to obey. Can kill entire packs with a thought. Can break or create mate bonds." Theo met her eyes. "Can eradicate bloodlines permanently."

Jasmina felt a kick in her stomach but push it aside. "How do you open it?"

"It has just three requirements." Theo counted on his fingers. "First, the Luna's blood. Second, the Alpha's death. Third, an unborn heir to absorb the vault's power."

The pieces were clicking into place.

"Arlene isn't pregnant," Jasmina said slowly.

"No. But you are." Theo leaned closer. "She doesn't want your baby dead, Jasmina. She wants to steal it. There's a spell in one of those books—blood magic. It can transfer an unborn child from one womb to another."

Horror crawled up Jasmina's spine. "She's going to take my baby."

"If she takes your baby, she becomes the pregnant Luna. She can open the vault." Theo's voice was urgent now. "That's why Damoew had to die. The Alpha's death is part of the ritual. The seal won't break without it."

"But why frame me?"

"Because if you're executed as a murderer, no one questions her claim to Luna. She gets the title legally, takes the baby through magic, and opens the vault alone. No witnesses or any opposition." Theo stood. "And there's a time limit. The ritual has to be completed within fourteen days of the Alpha's death, or the magic fails and the vault seals forever because the alpha shouldn’t be completely dead before the ritual."

"Fourteen days," Jasmina repeated. The same timeline as her execution.

"She's planned this perfectly," Theo said bitterly. "You die, she wins, and everyone thinks justice was served."

Jasmina looked down at her stomach. Her baby was growing inside her, completely unaware of the danger. Arlene wanted to rip it away, use it like a tool, and then what? Kill it once the vault was open?

"What's she going to do with that power?" Jasmina asked.

"I don't know. But someone who murders an Alpha and frames the original Luna it?" Theo's expression was grim. "Is nothing good."

Footsteps echoed from the far end of the dungeon. Theo straightened immediately.

"I have to go. The next guard shift is starting." He hesitated. "I'm going to get you out of here, Jasmina. I don't know how yet, but I will."

"Theo…."

"Your baby deserves a chance to live. And Arlene deserves to pay for what she's done." He started walking away, then stopped and looked back. "My sister is still out there somewhere. Exiled, alone, or probably dead. I couldn't save her. But I can save you."

He disappeared into the shadows.

Jasmina sat back against the wall, her mind spinning. Arlene had orchestrated everything. The rejection. The murder. The frame job. All of it leading to one goal: open the Lycan Vault and claim power that could destroy them all.

And Jasmina's baby was the key. But Theo didn’t even explain what he meant by the alpha shouldn’t be completely dead. Isn’t he dead already? Or will he be alive only till fourteen days time?

“Godddessss, this is so confusing.” Jasmina almost yelled out but sniff it in.